300 Years

A Journey Into My Family's Genealogy

Three hundred years later…

I have lived in Massachusetts for the past 25 years. The very
first time I visited the Boston area I was overcome with the feeling
that I belonged here. It was visceral and inexplicable. The history,
the architecture, the cobblestones, the stone walls and winding back
roads…. I was hooked and I loved it all!

When I started my genealogy research 5 years ago I
didn’t have much more than a couple generations worth of names
of people settling in the Mid-West. I was able to discover that my
6x Great Grandfather fought during the American Revolution and that
my family had deep roots in New England!

This was exciting and intriguing given that nobody in my
family had the slightest inkling of these facts. I figured that this
must be why I feel such a bond with New England. That was until I
uncovered information about my Patriot 6x Great Grandfather’s
wife. Although he was born in Connecticut, she was born in
Massachusetts. Further research uncovered that she was born in
Concord, Massachusetts on the 26 of August, 1718. That fact took my
breath away. My husband and I settled in Concord almost 20 years ago
and have raised our children here. Unknowingly, almost 300 years
after Rebecca, her 7x great grandchildren were born and raised in
the same town as her! Now that is genealogy serendipity at its
finest!

This coming August I will celebrate my family’s journey
back to Rebecca and this town. I have yet to uncover more details
about her time here, but I will honor her memory and her
contribution to my family heritage. I now think about her while I
walk through town. I ponder that I may actually be walking in her
footsteps. On August 26, 2018 Rebecca’s 300th birthday gift
will be that she is not forgotten by those who came after her.